Bondoc: Removal of confidential, intelligence funds should be gradual; Mendoza says not all gov't agencies are entitled

Senatorial aspirant Jimmy Bondoc said the removal of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) from agencies that have no connection with surveillance and intelligence gathering should be gradual rather than abrupt, arguing that all agencies are involved with national security.

During the “Tanong ng Bayan: The GMA Senatorial Face Off 2025,” Bondoc voted against removing CIFs from agencies that have nothing to do with surveillance and intelligence gathering.

Bondoc, a singer-composer and one of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Board of Directors under the Duterte administration, argued for his position.

“Ang sagot ko po dito ay hindi agad-agad. Nagkakaisa po tayo na talagang dapat labanan ang korapsyon. Ngunit ako po ay naniniwala na ang lahat ng government agencies ay may kinalaman sa national security. Ang national security po ay hindi lang terorismo, komunismo, kundi kung minsan internal threats sa ahensiya at sa mga empleyado nito,” he said.

(My answer is, this should not be immediate. We all agree that we must fight corruption. But I believe that all government agencies are involved with national security. National security is not just terrorism, communism, but sometimes internal threats within the agency and its employees.)

“At ang COA po ay naglabas ng magandang circular, 2015-01, na meron namang guidelines upang gastusin ang pondo na ito. Kaya hindi agad-agad,” he added.

(And the COA has issued an exceptional circular, 2015-01, where guidelines for spending this type of fund are indicated. So the removal does not need to be rushed.)

Bondoc was referring to the joint circular by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense (DND), Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG), and the Commission on Audit (COA) in 2015 which provides the guidelines on the entitlement, release, use, reporting and audit of confidential and/or intelligence funds.

Senatorial aspirant and former COA commissioner Heidi Mendoza, who voted in favor of removing CIF from agencies that have nothing to do with surveillance and intelligence gathering, argued that under the joint circular, not all government agencies are entitled to CIF.

“Malinaw po doon at sinasabi, hindi lahat entitled sa confidential funds, ‘di ba? Ay kung ikaw ay Department of Education, ayun ba naman ay nagawa ng ibang Secretary na walang confi, eh [bakit ngayon mayroon?]” she asked.

(It's clear in the circular that not all agencies are entitled to confidential funds. Other Secretaries were able to do their jobs without confidential funds, why does the Department of Education need it?)

Joint Circular No. 2015-01 states that the following are entitled to confidential funds and/or intelligence funds:

National government agencies which are expressly provided budget allocation for CF and/or IF under the General Appropriations Act or other law/s;

GOCCs as provided in their corporate operating budget in respect only to CF as may be expressly authorized by the GCG under R.A. No. 10149, and by the DBM for all other GOCCs; and

Local government units whose peace and order is a priority concern and which have duly allocated CF, but not IF, in their annual appropriation ordinances, provided, that, specific amount for Peace and Order Program (POP) is included in their Peace and Order and Public Safety Plan and, provided further, that there is a specific appropriation for POP in their annual budget.

Mendoza cited certain implications of granting civilian agencies access to CIF, insinuating the offices held by Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Mga minamahal kong kababayan, napakinggan natin at napanood ang talakayan sa Kongreso kung paano ginamit ang intelligence funds. Rumampa si Mary Grace at P125 million inubos sa labing isang araw,” she said.

(My beloved countrymen, we have listened to and watched the discussions in the Congress on how the intelligence funds were used. Mary Grace was floated and we’ve seen how P125 million was used in eleven days.)

“Sa gitna ng kahirapan, tumataas na gasolina, nagugutom, at hindi nakakapasok ang mga dapat nasa eskwela, bakit natin bibigyan ng confi funds ang mga ahensyang walang direct na mandato [sa national security?]”

(Amid poverty, rising fuel prices, hunger, and issues on education, why should we give confidential funds to agencies that do not have a direct mandate on national security?)

In their face-off, Bondoc asked Mendoza if all other types of funds from agencies should be removed due to abuses.

Mendoza, in response, said the issue on CIF is an issue of the type of audit.

“Atty. Bondoc, hindi po ito issue ng type of funds. Ito po ay issue ng type of audit. Iba po ang audit ng confidential funds na ito nga po cash advance at hindi po nakikita ang mga supporting documents, sa ICFAO lang po,” she said.

(Atty. Bondoc, this is not an issue of the type of funds. This is an issue of the type of audit. The audit of the confidential funds is different. This is a cash advance and the supporting documents are not visible, except at the ICFAO [Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office].)

Bondoc argued that all agencies are related to national security.

“Ako po kasi ay naniniwala sa proseso at napakaganda po ng guidelines ninyo. Ang pinagkaiba lang po ng ating paniniwala ay naniniwala ako na ang gobyerno ay nasa linya ng kaayusan at kaguluhan. Kaya ang lahat po ng ahensiya kahit papano ay may kinalaman sa national security,” he said.

(I believe in the process and your guidelines are well crafted. The only difference between our beliefs is that I believe that the government is on the line between order and chaos. That is why all agencies are somehow related to national security.)

He added that audit is about process and compliance with laws, rules, and regulation. Thus, public funds are about transparency and accountability.

The House good government and public accountability panel's inquiry found that the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) — both under Vice President Sara Duterte at the time, though she has since vacated the DepEd leadership — spent P500 million and P112.5 million worth of confidential funds respectively from December 2022 to September 2023, with documentation that included acknowledgement receipts containing wrong dates, signatories with no birth records, unnamed signatures, and non-readable signatures. — BAP, GMA Integrated News